NEWS RELEASE — 2015 LA STAGE ALLIANCE OVATION AWARD WINNERS

2015 LA STAGE ALLIANCE OVATION AWARDS
PRESENTED MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9
AT THE AHMANSON THEATRE

The 2015 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards, celebrating theatrical excellence and achievement during the past 12 months, were presented on Monday, November 9 at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center.

Thirty-five awards were bestowed upon 18 different Southern California theatre companies. The most honored companies of the year were The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts/Deaf West Theatre/Cody Lassen (Spring Awakening); Center Theatre Group (Chavez Ravine: An L.A. Revival, The Price, Luna Gale); Circle X Theatre Company (Trevor); Ebony Repertory Company (The Gospel at Colonus); Sacred Fools Theater Company (The Behavior of Broadus, a co-production with Burglars of Hamm and Center Theatre Group); Four Larks (The Temptation of St Antony); and Loft Ensemble (She Kills Monsters).

Other companies honored were 3-D Theatricals, Actors Co-op, Cabrillo Music Theatre, Coeurage Theatre Company, Los Angeles Performance Practice, The Pasadena Playhouse, Rogue Machine, Unbound Productions, and VS. Theatre Company. The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts received the Best Season Award (Enter Laughing, Love, Noël: The Letters and Songs of Noël Coward, Spring Awakening).

For a complete list of winners, go to @ This Stage Magazine (ThisStage.LA).

LA STAGE Alliance Board Chair Brian Kite said, “What a night! It is always a thrill to gather the Los Angeles theatre community together to honor excellence. The work on our stages this year was invigorating, riveting, thought provoking, and daring. Congratulations to all the artists that keep LA theatre among the best in the world. Bravo!”

Sarah Lyding, Senior Program Officer for The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, presented the BEST Awards, including checks totaling $105,000 to the following LA theatre companies: Casa 0101 (also won in 2012), Center Theatre Group, East West Players (also won in 2013 and 2014), The Pasadena Playhouse, and Watts Village Theater Company.

Additionally, Center Theatre Group presented the 2015 Sherwood Award for innovative and adventurous artists to Miwa Matreyek. This award is endowed by the Sherwood family and is accompanied by $10,000 to further Matreyek’s artistic work.

The ceremony was hosted by French and Vanessa Claire Stewart, and this year’s presenters included LA theatre luminaries (in alphabetical order) Keith Allan, Bekah Brunsetter, Lap Chi Chu, Guillermo Cienfuegos, Tim Dang, Abigail Deser, Robert Egan, Christina Elmore, Ann Closs Farley, Shirley Jo Finney, Brighid Fleming, David and Kiki Gindler, Harry Groener, Sofia Klatzker, Michael Kricfalusi, Deborah Lawler, Alan Mandell, Terence McFarland, Stephen Sachs, Oz Scott, Madhuri Shekar, Trent Steelman, Seema Sueko, Jose Luis Valenzuela, and Kirsten Vangsness.

Founded in 1989, the LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Voters are Los Angeles theatre professionals who are chosen each year, through an application process, by the Ovation Rules Committee. The list of nominees is determined by a tabulation of scores conducted by Green Hasson Janks. This year’s Ovation Award eligibility period ran from September 1, 2014 through August 31, 2015.

Since 1975, LA STAGE Alliance has dedicated to building awareness, appreciation, and support for the performing arts in Greater Los Angeles. All of its initiatives aim to serve and strengthen the sector — both at an individual and community level — providing resources that facilitate audience engagement, collaborative marketing, community building, and professional development.

Sponsors for this year’s Ovation Awards ceremony were The Sheri & Les Biller Family Foundation, TheaterMania, Goldstar, Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment, USC School of Dramatic Arts, UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, Green Hasson Janks, Bakers Man Productions, Performances Magazine, City Tavern, Peter Konerko Photography, and Ken Werther Publicity. Variety was the media sponsor.

For more information, visit lastagealliance.com.

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11-09-15

CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS

NEWS RELEASE — 3rd Annual LA STAGE Day — SATURDAY 5/16 AT CAL STATE LA

LA STAGE ALLIANCE 3RD ANNUAL
LA STAGE DAY
A DAY-LONG COMMUNITY EVENT
FOR PERFORMERS, DESIGNERS, ADMINISTRATORS,
STUDENTS, VENDORS, BOARD MEMBERS,
AND PATRONS OF THE ARTS
ON THE CAMPUS OF
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LOS ANGELES
SATURDAY, MAY 16

LA STAGE Alliance has announced its third annual LA STAGE Day, a day-long community event for the greater Los Angeles performing arts community. Generously hosted by California State University Los Angeles, the activities will take place on the campus of CSULA on Saturday, May 16, from 9am – 5pm.

An inspiring, all-day event held at Cal State LA, LA STAGE Day brings together artists, administrators, board members, funders, and members of the community for a series of workshops, creative sessions, and panel discussions. This year’s keynote speaker will be Ben Cameron, program director for the arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

“It being such an impassioned time for our community, we hope that LA STAGE Day serves to unify and strengthen our common goals,” said Terence McFarland, CEO of LA STAGE Alliance. He continued, “One of the most inspiring speakers in the sector, Ben Cameron of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, will kick us off as our opening keynote, discussing the current state of the field and what it takes to be resilient in these times. With concurrent tracks in marketing, leadership and artistry, there’s something for everyone with which to walk away feeling, inspired, empowered, and connected.”

Speakers and session leaders scheduled to participate include (in alphabetical order) Jenny Byrd, Andy Crocker, Mark Doerr, Meg Fister, Ashley Dunn Gatterdam, Kiki Ramos Gindler, Sara Guerrero, Paula Holt, Tina Kronis, Matt Lehrman, Jay McAdams, Ted Russell, Seema Sueko, Elizabeth Tobias, Pamela Vanderway, and Paul Vandeventer. The schedule of the day’s events can be found at lastagealliance.com/lastageday.

LA STAGE Alliance, a non-profit organization empowering artists and engaging audiences since 1975, is dedicated to building awareness, appreciation, and support for the performing arts in Greater Los Angeles by strengthening the sector through community building, collaborative marketing, audience engagement, professional development, and advocacy.

Current partners include LA County Arts Commission, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, United Scenic Artists Local USA 829, I.A.T.S.E., and Cal State LA.

LA STAGE Day is from 9am—5pm on Saturday, May 16. To become a supporter of LA STAGE Day, for up-to-the-minute information, and to purchase tickets go to lastagealliance.com/lastageday.

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04-15-15

Press Release: LA Stage Alliance Announces 2nd Annual LA Stage Day, Sat 5/17

LA STAGE ALLIANCE 2ND ANNUAL
LA STAGE DAY
A DAY-LONG COMMUNITY EVENT
FOR PERFORMERS, DESIGNERS, ADMINISTRATORS,
STUDENTS, VENDORS, AND PATRONS OF THE ARTS
ON THE CAMPUS OF
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LOS ANGELES
SATURDAY, MAY 17

LA STAGE Alliance has announced its second annual LA STAGE DAY, a day-long community event for the greater Los Angeles performing arts community. Generously hosted by California State University Los Angeles, the activities will take place on the campus of CSULA on Saturday, May 17, from 10am – 6pm.

LA STAGE DAY will open and close with mini-lectures from some of LA’s most engaged arts provocateurs. Throughout the day, interactive sessions and workshops will explore various elements of the performing arts community. In the afternoon, a bazaar/expo (free and open to the public) will showcase arts organizations, including LA STAGE Alliance member companies, partners, and affiliates from all over greater Los Angeles.

“We’re thrilled to bring the community together for our second annual LA STAGE DAY,” said LA STAGE CEO Terence McFarland. “Many of this year’s sessions focus on more deeply engaging stakeholders — board members, philanthropists, audiences, and elected officials. I’m certain our provocateurs will challenge and inspire attendees with their wishes for the LA performing arts community.” He continued, “Attendees can expect to walk away rejuvenated by networking with their peers, empowered with practical tactics to engage their community, and emboldened to strengthen the performing arts community through unique partnerships. Our community is filled with brilliance; LA STAGE DAY hopes to shine a light on the best of what we have to offer.”

A multitude of discussions, workshops, and sessions designed to inspire and exchange creative ideas will be offered throughout the day. Some of the categories scheduled to be explored are Arts Philanthropy, Directing Actors in Dialogue Roles, Applying for Local Grant Programs, Digital Marketing, Engaging with Government Agencies, A Director’s Role in Team-Building, and more. A private Marketing Master Class led by Jim Royce and Joseph Yoshitomi will also be offered (for an additional fee). Participants will have the opportunity to engage in marketing case studies specific to their individual organizations.

Scheduled speakers are Bill Ahmanson, Sheri Biller, Danielle Brazell, John D’Amico, Castulo de la Rocha, Amy Edlin Kramer, Olga Garay-English, Jim McCarthy, Joy Meads, Nina Ozlu Tunceli, Seema Sueko, Pamela Vanderway, Craig Watson, Renae Williams Niles, Laura Zucker, and more.

LA STAGE Alliance, a non-profit organization empowering artists and engaging audiences since 1975, is dedicated to building awareness, appreciation, and support for the performing arts in Greater Los Angeles by strengthening the sector through community building, collaborative marketing, audience engagement, professional development, and advocacy.

LA STAGE DAY is sponsored in part by Schweickert & Company, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and California State University Los Angeles. LA STAGE Alliance programs are sponsored in part by Actors Equity, The Biller Family Foundation, California Arts Council, California Community Foundation, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, DatabaseWorks, the DEW Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Goldstar, James Irvine Foundation, Andrew Mellon Foundation, Bakers Man Productions, Ken Werther Publicity, Live Event Pros, Los Angeles County Supervisors through the LA County Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, 4 Wall Lighting, Pacific Coast Entertainment, The Shubert Foundation, and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Check-in for LA STAGE DAY is at 9:30am, and tickets are $40. To purchase tickets and for up-to-the-minute info, go to lastagealliance.com/lastageday.

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04-30-14